Israeli Foreign Minister calls UNHRC ‘biased,’ condemns anti-Israel resolutions
Jerusalem [Israel], February 6: A day after US President Donald Trump announced America’s withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar declared on Wednesday that Israel would also refuse to participate in the UNHRC.
Sa’ar welcomed Trump’s move, stating that the UNHRC has failed to uphold human rights and instead targeted Israel unfairly.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Sa’ar wrote:
“Israel welcomes President Trump’s decision not to participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Israel joins the United States and will not participate in the UNHRC.”
‘UNHRC Obsessed with Demonizing Israel’
Sa’ar strongly criticized the UNHRC, accusing it of protecting human rights abusers while unfairly condemning Israel.
“The UNHRC has traditionally protected human rights abusers by allowing them to hide from scrutiny, and instead obsessively demonizes the one democracy in the Middle East – Israel. This body has focused on attacking a democratic country and propagating antisemitism instead of promoting human rights.”
He also pointed out the disproportionate number of resolutions passed against Israel.
“The discrimination against us is clear: In the UNHRC, Israel is the only country with an agenda item dedicated solely to it. Israel has been subjected to over 100 condemnatory resolutions—over 20% of all resolutions ever passed in the Council—more than against Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela combined. Israel will not accept this discrimination any longer!”
Trump Justifies US Withdrawal, Calls UNHRC ‘Anti-Semitic’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently visiting the United States and attended a joint press conference with President Trump in Washington, DC.
During the event, Trump defended America’s withdrawal from the UNHRC and also cut US funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), citing its alleged ties to Hamas.
“I’m also pleased to announce that this afternoon the United States withdrew from the anti-semitic UN Human Rights Council and ended all of the support for the UN Relief and Works Agency, which funneled money to Hamas and which was very disloyal to humanity.”
Trump also reinstated strict sanctions on Iran, aiming to cripple its oil exports and reduce its ability to fund terrorist activities.
“Today I also took action to restore our maximum pressure policy on the Iranian regime. And we will once again enforce the most aggressive possible sanctions, drive Iranian oil exports to zero, and diminish the regime’s capacity to fund terror throughout the region and the world,” Trump stated.
Netanyahu’s US Visit Focuses on Middle East Strategy
Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Sunday for high-level discussions on the Gaza ceasefire agreement and broader Middle East policies. He is also expected to meet with US military leaders and members of Congress in the coming days.
During the press conference, Trump reaffirmed US-Israel ties, saying,
“The bonds of friendship and affection between the American and Israeli people have endured for generations, and they are absolutely unbreakable.”
As Israel aligns with Trump’s hardline stance against the UNHRC, its decision to boycott the Council is likely to deepen tensions between Israel and international human rights organizations.